F3 to aid Madrid F1 preparations as revised weekend format announced

Formula 3 will assist in Madrid's Formula 1 preparations, with a two-day in-season test planned to validate the facility, ahead of a revised weekend schedule to make up lost time from the cancelled Bahrain weekend. 

Formula 3 has moved to recoup some of the lost track time from the cancelled Bahrain Grand Prix weekend by adding a second feature race to its schedule at the Madring season-finale in September.

F3 was originally slated to contest the second round of its 2026 campaign in Bahrain, but as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, this was struck from the schedule, with F1, F2 and the F1 Academy also removing the Saudi Arabian round.

While F2 made up for lost track time with additional rounds in Miami and Montreal - taking the championship to North America for the first time - and the F1 Academy altered its format to include an 'Opening Race', F3 was left as the only championship not to have recouped this time.

However, the championship has now confirmed that the Madrid weekend will see drivers compete in three races.

As normal, there will be a 45-minute practice session on Friday morning, but then drivers will take part in a pair of 20-minute qualifying sessions. The first will set the grid for the regular sprint and feature races, with the normal partial reverse order being used for the former. But this regular feature race will now shift to Saturday afternoon, significantly reducing the time for repair work to be completed should it be required. 

Sunday morning will see a second feature race take place, which could ultimately decide the title, with the second qualifying session deciding the grid order. 

Ahead of the event, a two-day in-season test will take place between 24-25 August, giving drivers a vital opportunity to get to grips with the all-new facility.

“I’m very pleased to announce this F3 test session at the Madring," said championship CEO Bruno Michel. 

"It will be two very valuable days of testing for our teams and drivers to appraise this new challenge before the crucial final round of the 2026 season, which will be held at this new venue.

“This season will have a pretty unique conclusion with an enhanced finale, which will provide the teams and the drivers with an additional opportunity to score points, following the loss of the race weekend at Bahrain earlier this year.”

Confirmation that Madrid will remain as the season finale ends any speculation that the season could have been extended, with F3 acting as a support category should F1 return Bahrain to the calendar in early October, as is widely expected.

In a statement provided to Crash.net, it was confirmed that: "Ending the 2026 F3 season in Madrid has been the plan since the 2026 calendar was announced. We worked on enhancing the season finale at the Madring as soon as it was understood, after Melbourne, that F3 would not race at Sakhir in 2026."

While the in-season test will be useful for the drivers, it will also aid the circuit to validate its facilities. 

Director of the Spanish Grand Prix, Luis Garcia Abad, added: “From the very beginning, we were clear that we wanted to arrive at the Grand Prix with a fully validated and tested circuit. In a completely new project such as Madring, it was essential to check, under real competition conditions, that all elements related to safety, operations and the sporting delivery of the event would work exactly as we had planned.

“From our very first conversations with Bruno Michel, we found Formula 3 to be completely willing to make these test days possible. Their collaboration has been outstanding and allows us to fulfil a dual objective: to carry out all the necessary checks before the Grand Prix makes its debut and, at the same time, to add major sporting appeal by incorporating an additional championship race whose outcome will be decided in Madrid.”